Welcome back, everybody!  I’m Rick Pettigrew with a heads-up about the latest batch of four fascinating news stories from this past week of Archaeologica.  Send us feedback on The Archaeology Channel Facebook page or post a message on our social networking site, ArchaeoSeek!

A new published study reports that finger bones from an australopithecine individual, excavated in Kenya in 2019 and 2021, show that this non-Homo species could have made and used simple stone tools one and a half million years ago.  We now have the first full description of a large hilltop Minoan labyrinth discovered in 2024 in Crete.  An underwater site in Belize devoted to salt production is characterized as a lucky find.  And the plague presumed to have afflicted the short-lived capital of monotheistic Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten might not have happened at all.

Thanks to everyone for supporting our subscription platform, Heritage Broadcasting Service, available at heritagetac.org.  We now have hundreds of titles you can binge upon on Roku, including our recent video about searching for the lost aircraft of Amelia Earhart.  Please help us spread the word!  Again, that link is heritagetac.org.

Our tour program, TAC Tours, will continue in February 2026 with our tour of spectacular sites from the impressive civilizations of Cambodia, including Angkor Wat.  Please join us for that!  The link to our tour program is at archaeologychannel.org/tours.

And now, here’s Zayne Clayton with the Audio News from Archaeologica!  We hope you find this to be a valuable part of your day!

Welcome to the Audio News from Archaeologica! I’m Zayne Clayton, and these are the headlines in archaeological and historical news for the week of October 12th through the 19th, 2025. 

Our first story this week comes from the site of Koobi Fora [KOO-bee FOHR-uh] near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, where a new study has proposed that an ancient hominid may have used tools.  Remarkably, this hominid did not belong to our own Homo genus. 

As reported by Science News, a team of researchers uncovered a partial skeleton with hand and foot bones belonging to the species Paranthropus boisei[BOY-say].  The specimen was excavated near Lake Turkana in 2019 and 2021 and is over 1.5 million years old.  

Archaeologists have previously proposed that this hominid could use tools, but had no identifiable hand bones to examine.  This new study presents the first bones for analysis that are associated with an identified skull.  Their analysis shows that Paranthropus boisei could pinch objects between the thumb and other fingers, although their grip was likely less effective than that of the Homo genus.  The results support the idea that they could have used basic cutting and pounding tools.

Careful analysis of the size of the thumb and fingers, as well as the length proportions, hint that Paranthropus boisei had a strong grip, like gorillas.  They likely used this grip to remove tough, inedible parts from herbaceous plants.

While a strong grip is useful for tree climbing, analysis shows that the hominid lacked curved digits that are also useful for many apes to climb trees.  Instead, their grip in that respect resembles that of gorillas, indicating they might have adopted a gorilla-like style, spending most time on the ground.

According to paleoanthropologists and study coauthor Thomas Cody Prang of Washington University in St. Louis, Paranthropus boisei could bend their big toe upward, which is useful among humans for walking.  However, their short big toe likely made walking less efficient.

The study appeared in the journal Nature.

Next we go to the island of Crete in Greece, where archaeologists have uncovered a large, circular labyrinth from the Minoan civilization.  The structure stands out for its size, early date and unique design. 

As reported by the Greek Reporter, the labyrinth rests on Crete’s Papoura hill.  It has a diameter of around 48 to 50 meters, a preserved height of 2.85 meters, and a surface area of 1,800 square meters.  While the circular design is unique in the Aegean region, it resembles circular buildings from Bronze Age Mesopotamia, Syria and Oman. 

The labyrinth was built using unworked mountain stones mortared with mud from local soil rich with clay. 

The design is a complicated group of seven overlapping stone rings, with three zones of use.  The first, Zone A, is the central core.  The center is a circle with a diameter of 9.3 meters formed by two rings using a corbelled vaulting technique.  Next to this circle is a western entrance comprising four walls in a cross shape that create four rooms.  This area may have had a vaulted roof.

Zone B is the peripheral around the core.  It holds many small rooms radially arranged.  Minoans would have accessed the room through a paved corridor, possibly outdoors.  Zone B has two entrances, one on the southwest wall and one on the northeast.

Zone C is the tiered rings around the base of the labyrinth, as well as the polygonal enclosure encircling the site. 

Researchers have proposed a date between 3000 and 1700 BC for the initial construction.  The Minoans followed successive phases of maintenance and construction, suggesting that the labyrinth was an important reference point.  The incredible structure reflects a large amount of labor, specialized experience and knowledge, and a central administration to oversee the work.

Archaeologists also discovered pottery, including vessels for food preparation, food consumption and storage. They also uncovered lamps, miniature vessels, a ceremonial vessel shaped like a bird, stone tools, pendant beads, and shells.  Considering this evidence along with the structure, scholars have proposed that this was a site for periodic, ritualistic activity rather than continuous settlement. 

The labyrinth is unique, especially for its early dating.  Its construction during the Pre-palatial period indicates surprising technical and cultural sophistication, as well as local elite or rulers who helped build sites for collective communal rituals.

According to the President of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, Costas Paschalidis [pass-ka-LEE-dees], this labyrinth is one of the most important finds of this century for ancient Greece.  It may completely alter our understanding of Minoan civilization in prehistory.

Our third story takes us to Punta Ycacos [POON-tah ee-KAH-kohs] Lagoon on the southern Belize coast, where a new study has uncovered a Late Classic Maya salt compound.  This research shows the importance of archaeological sites hidden underwater.

As reported by Phys.org, Dr. Heather McKillop from Louisiana State University and Dr. E. Cory Sills from The University of Texas at Tyler conducted the study.  It appeared in the journal Ancient Mesoamerica. 

Researchers typically survey Maya architecture through pedestrian surveys and LiDAR technology.  These techniques perform best in uncovering Late Classic and Terminal Classic mounds and stone plazas.  However, many modern Maya villages are constructed with pole and thatch architecture.  These perishable structures are difficult to detect archaeologically, so they become invisible.

The team uncovered the compound of Cho-ok Ayin [CHO-oak ah-YIN] during a flotation survey in mangrove peat.  The site was built somewhere between AD 550 and 800 and is around 32 by 27 meters in size. It holds 56 hardwood posts and three palmetto-palm posts.  The unprecedented preservation of these components is due to an environment the mangrove peat created, which blocked bacteria that decomposes wood. 

The Maya used Cho-ok Ayin to produce salt.  Four buildings served this purpose.  Building A was residential, buildings B and C were used as salt kitchens, and building D was likely used for salt enrichment. 

Site inhabitants would have collected saline-rich water to enrich the salt.  They poured the water through salt-rich sediment into a funnel that filled clay collection pots.  Next, they boiled the pots over wood fires to evaporate the water, leaving only salt. 

According to Dr. McKillop, they either left the salt loose in the container or formed it into salt cakes.  In modern Guatemala, families still boil brine in pots and then break them to remove the salt cakes. 

Normal archaeological survey methods would have completely missed this site, despite researchers believing that at least five people lived there.  The inhabitants also participated in regional trade networks, as shown by artifacts like Belize Red pottery, Guatemalan obsidian, and northern Belize chert tools.  This normally invisible site helps researchers now adjust for sampling biases in the study of population sizes and trade and household activities. 

We end our week in the ancient city of Akhetaten in Egypt, where a new study has rejected the traditional assumption that the once-capital suffered from a plague that led to its abandonment.

As reported by Phys.org, Dr. Gretchen Dabbs and Anna Stevens conducted the study and published it in the American Journal of Archaeology.  

The pharaoh Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep the Fourth, worshiped only the sun god, Aten.  Distancing himself religiously, he built the new Egyptian capital of Akhetaten, now called Amarna.  The city was mysteriously abandoned after only around 20 years.  

Previous research has suggested that the cause of the abandonment was plague.  As archaeological evidence of epidemics is hard to find, researchers have relied on historical texts.  Sources from the Hittite empire claim that Egyptian captives brought a plague, while letters at Akhetaten hint at the presence of disease nearby.  However, none of these sources specifically indicate Amarna as being affected by disease.

According to Dr. Dabbs, the researchers compared Amarna to archaeological and bioarcheological expectations of what a city and cemetery affected by epidemics would look like.   Typically, epidemics affect many aspects of life, including building maintenance and burial patterns.  However, none of the evidence at Amarna fits into this pattern.

Previous excavations at Akhetaten between 2005 and 2022 looked at the four cemeteries intended for the general public.  Out of 889 interments, researchers found patterns of stress markers more consistent with socio-economic hardships than disease.  

During epidemics, burials tend to be more disordered and hasty.  However, many of the interments held grave goods and textiles, showing that time and care went into the burial.  While the unusually high number of multiple burials may hint at an epidemic, the pattern of adult females being interred with children suggests cultural reasons.

The team found that the number of burials fits with the expected range of burials for the city.  Furthermore, they found that the abandonment was systematic and orderly, with some continued occupation after Akhenaten’s death.  These pieces of evidence both point to a normal city, unaffected by the plague.

According to Dr. Dabbs, an important takeaway from this research is that archaeologists should be careful when using evidence from temporally and geographically different locations to make a claim about an ancient site.  Careful analysis can distinguish the truth from misconception caused by circumstantial evidence.

That wraps up the news for this week!

For more stories and daily news updates, visit Archaeologica on the World Wide Web at www.archaeologica.org where all the news is history! Also, be sure to check out our growing subscription platform, Heritage Broadcasting Service, at heritagetac.org!

I’m Zayne Clayton.  Laura Kennedy will be back next week!